It didn’t take long for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team to get over the disappointment of being snubbed from the NCAA tournament.
Following the NCAA and NIT selection shows, the Bisons held practice late Sunday night to prepare for their Tuesday-evening battle at Davidson. The first round NIT game is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be carried on ESPN3.
“We knew no matter where we were playing that there was a 50 percent chance that we’d have a Tuesday game,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “There’s enough software out there now that you can get yourself ready [quickly].”
The Bisons (25-7) were in consideration for an at-large bid to the Big Dance, but multiple losses to Belmont and Liberty and an upset defeat at Florida Gulf Coast were too much to overcome. Liberty took the ASUN’s automatic bid after topping the Bisons by a score of 74-68 in the conference championship game on March 10.
“We were disappointed after the Liberty loss,” senior forward Rob Marberry said. “We kind of kicked ourselves for maybe a day or two, and then afterward we had to get back to work because we still have games to play.”
Lipscomb is doing its best to take the NCAA snub in stride and focus on the NIT, which ends with the Final Four on April 2 and 4 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
“We’re obviously disappointed we’re not in March Madness, but it’s still great for the program to be playing [in the NIT],” Marberry said. “We’re trying to increase the size of the [Lipscomb] name. Any time a team is playing in late March, it’s good for the school and good for the program.”
The Bisons ended up with a No. 5 seed in the NIT due to the fact that the school did not apply to host first or second round games. Lipscomb is on spring break this week, and there were conflicts with events already planned for Allen Arena.
“I think our numbers merit a two or three,” Alexander said. “For a lot of reasons, we are not playing home games this week. I’m going to choose to believe [that’s why] they put us into one of those road seeds. That’s my theory, anyway.”
Davidson went 24-9 overall and should provide a tall task for the Bisons. The Wildcats are led by junior guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson (17.2 PPG) and sophomore guard Kellan Grady (16.8 PPG).
Alexander and Marberry both said the similarities between Davidson and Lipscomb are noticeable.
“I think our teams are very similar – both in the way that we are constructed and in the way that we play,” Alexander said. “They are pretty cerebral, and their skill level on offense is high. But their strengths are pretty similar to our strengths, so I think we can adapt pretty quickly.”
Marberry said he’s familiar with Davidson from its Elite Eight run with current Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry in 2008. This year’s Davidson team averages 71 points per game while allowing just 65 points per contest.
“Davidson’s a huge name,” he said. “Obviously with Steph Curry playing and dominating March Madness [in 2008]. But they still made the tournament in the years after that and are a great team now. They are highly efficient on the offensive and defensive ends.”
Alexander said he’s been pleased with his team’s energy in practice since the Liberty loss. That’s an important development for a team that was not expecting to end up in the NIT.
“The mood the last couple of days has been great,” he said. “The energy level has been great. It feels a little bit more like a mid-season practice with a lot on the line.”
Marberry seems to have his sights set on a March tournament run, albeit a different one from what the team had originally hoped.
“Madison Square Garden is incredible. The experience is like no other,” Marberry said. “That’s the objective. Get to the Final Four and win a championship game.”
Photos by author and McKenzi Harris